Exercise device



April 1935. F. W.'LANG 1,998,197

EXERCISE DEVICE Filed July 15, 1954 Inventor fi azerz'cl Wl aw M Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

My invention relates generally to a device to be used in exercising the feet and the legs, and an important object of the invention is to provide a novel and eflicient device of great simplicity enabling quickly and easily strengthening and building up or reducing (when overweight) the feet, ankles and legs, and as an aid in the elimination and correction as Well as prevention of fallen arches and other foot ailments.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a simple and low cost device of the character described which can be operated simultaneously by both feet while the person taking the exercise is in a standing or in a sitting position the device not being subject to getting out of order and being capable of being made and marketed at an extremely reasonable figure.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with the drawing, wherein for purposes of illustration I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the embodiment.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through Figure 1 approximately on the line 2-4.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the base or stand.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 5 refers generally to a short compact stand which may be made of wood, metal, composition or any other suitable material so as to have the flat plate 6 suitably curved inwardly at the sides as indicated at I and 8 and have on the opposite ends thereof the standards 9, l0, respectively, which are preferably of heavier material than the plate 6 and rounded at opposite ends as indicated at I I, I2, and provided inwardly of the ends with the rectangular openings l3, M, respectively, which form bearings for the reduced portions l5, It at the opposite ends of the roller which is generally designated ll.

The roller may be made of wood, metal, composition or any other suitable material preferably having its ends provided with the reduced portions l5, l6, defining the shoulders l8, l9, respectively, which cause the roller to fit within the standards 9, I0 and the reduced ends I5, I 6 to stay in engagement with the bearing surfaces provided by the openings l3, l4. In order to be effective, it is not necessary that the roller ll be provided with the reduced ends on the shoulders mentioned, but these formations increase the efficiency and serviceability of the exerciser.

It will be observed that the openings I3, II are of suflicient length to permit rolling the roller transversely of the base 6 for some distance back and forth, and that the shoulders l8, l9 engage the inner sides of the standards in such 5 a way as to keep the roller properly aligned as it rolls from one side to the other.

The exercise device is to be placed on the floor or other supporting surface with the plate 6 lying thereon, and the roller I1 is then put into 10 play. To use the device for exercising the feet and legs, the feet or-one or both of them are placed on the roller and the roller pushed back and forth by means of pressure exerted by the feet.

If desired the person taking the exercise may place one or'both feet on the roller, with the roller engaging the arch or other portion of the feet, while sitting on a chair or while standing, the feet and legs being exercised by manipulat- 20 ing the feet and legs so as to roll and push the roller back and forth in a manner to produce the greatest change of position and condition of the feet and legs, with obvious consequent benefits to the parts of the feet and legs concerned.

Although I have shown and described herein a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be definitely understood that I do not desire to limit the application of the invention thereto, and any change or changes may be made in ma- 30 terials and in the structure and arrangement of parts, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. An exercise device of the character de- 35 scribed comprising a base, guides at opposite ends of the base, and a roller having its opposite ends confined by said guides and arranged to be rolled back and forth across the base.

2. An exercise device of the character de- 40 scribed comprising a base, guides at opposite ends of the base, and a roller having its opposite ends confined by said guides and arranged to be rolled back and forth across the base, said roller being supported by said guides out of contact with the 45 upper surface of the base.

3. In an exercise device of the character described, a base, a horizontal roller, and means on the base supporting said roller for rolling in a substantially horizontal plane in a direction substantially right angular with respect to the axis of the roller.

4. In an exercise device of the character described, a base, a pair of spaced uprights on the base, each upright including a runway spaced laterally from the base and a. stop at opposite ends of each runway, a roller having opposite ends arranged on said runways and between said stops whereby said roller is supported in spaced relation to the base in rolling contact with said runways, said stop being suiliciently spaced to permit said roller to be rolled back and forth across said base.

5. An exercise device of the character described comprising a support, a pair of spaced uprights on the support, each support including a runway and a'stop at each end oi. the runway, a roller having its opposite ends rollably supported on said runways out of contact with said support, said stops being sufficiently spaced to permit said roller to be rolled back and forth across said support.

6. An exercise device of the character described comprising a plate, an upright rising from each of two opposite sides of the top of the plate, each upright having a notch in the top thereof defining a pair of stops and a runway therebetween, and a roller having its opposite ends resting rollably on said runways, said stops being sufficiently spaced to permit rolling said roller back and forth across said plate.

'7. An exercise device of the character described comprising a plate, an upright rising from each of two opposite sides of the top of the plate, each upright having a notch in the top thereof defining a pair of stops and a runway therebetween, and a roller having its opposite ends resting rollably on said runways, said stops being sufllciently spaced to permit rolling said roller back and forth across said plate, said roller being supported out of contact with the top of said plate.

8. An exercise device of the character described comprising a plate, an upright rising from each of two opposite sides of the top of the plate, each upright having a notch in the top thereof defining a pair of stops and a runway therebetween, and a roller having its opposite ends resting rollably on said runways, said stops being sufliciently spaced to permit rolling said roller back and forth across said plate, said opposite ends of the roller being reduced in diameter and defining shoulders engageable with the inner sides of said uprights in a manner to guide the roller.

9. An exercise device of the character described comprising a plate, an upright rising from each of two opposite sides of the top of the plate, each upright having a notch in the top thereof defining a pair of stops and a runway therebetween, and a roller having its opposite ends resting rollably on said runways, said stops being sufliciently spaced to permit rolling said roller back and forth across said plate, said opposite ends of the roller being reduced in diameter and defining shoulders engageable with the inner sides or said uprights in a manner to guide the roller, the portion of the roller between the reduced ends being supported out of contact with the top of said plate.

FREDERICK W. LANG. 

